


Sick Kid

by marzbarz



Series: it takes a village (or a pirate crew) [7]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Gen, Illness, Kureha's bedside manner, mentions of vomit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-20
Updated: 2014-05-20
Packaged: 2018-01-25 22:32:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1664942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marzbarz/pseuds/marzbarz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luffy gets sick, really sick, and Whitebeard calls in a favor with an old witch of a doctor who lives on Drum Island.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sick Kid

**Author's Note:**

> I LIVE!!! You guys, I am so sorry that this story took so long, I really am. This story was like pulling teeth, which combined with a whole lot of real life crap to make this chapter take ages.  
> Thank you so much for all the reviews on the rest of the series, and I'm sorry again that this story took so long! This is my solemn promise that this series will never be dead and unfinished, no matter how long it takes for stories to come. Sometimes they just come at the pace of 100 words a day. I hope you guys enjoy this part of the series!
> 
> EDIT: You guys, I am so sorry about the formatting. I think I'm just going to give up on posting chapters from work from now on, this happens every freaking time.

It started out as no big deal.

Luffy got the sniffles, and although he was kind of weirded out by the way his nose was running all the time he went about his day, chaos following in his wake as usual. Myka, the Moby Dick’s head nurse, started lobbing tissue packs his direction whenever she saw him with boogers everywhere. Nobody thought anything of it.

A few days later, Luffy started coughing. It wasn’t bad at first, a few coughs here and there as he played and did “watch duty”, nothing anyone thought they needed to worry about besides adjusting his diet and sleep schedule to help him get better. A couple days later the cough got worse, turning from weak, dry coughs into coughing fits that could last for minutes, sounded painful, and kept him up half the night. Jozu dragged a protesting Luffy down to the infirmary, and the nurses gave him some cough syrup and strict instructions to get some rest, which his brothers and sisters made sure he followed to the letter.

When Luffy didn’t come up for breakfast a few days later Thatch went to investigate and found him shivering under too many layers of covers, a puddle of vomit next to his bed at head-level. "Luffy, we're going to the nurse," Thatch said, pulling the covers back and pressing the back of his hand to Luffy's forehead. "You don't look so good, bub."

"Don' feel good," Luffy mumbled, leaning his forehead into Thatch's hand. "Tummy hurts. Head hurts."

"I know, bud, I'm sorry," Thatch said, biting his lip at how hot the little guy felt. He gently gathered Luffy into his arms, tucking a blanket around him. "We'll help you out, get you feeling better before you know it." He set off for the infirmary at just under a sprint, ignoring the confused greetings from the crew until he was through the door and talking to the nurses. "He feels very hot and he threw up sometime between when he went to sleep and when I got him up five minutes ago," he said when Myka came storming up to demand an explanation. "Said his head and stomach hurt."

Luffy was lifted out of his arms and into a storm of nurses in a matter of seconds as Myka started shouting orders, gently shoving Thatch into a corner of the room. Thatch was too grateful they hadn’t made him leave to be annoyed as Luffy was run through a series of examinations and tests, then bundled into an infirmary gown and tucked into bed. As soon as the storm of nurses had cleared Thatch dragged a chair over so he could sit next to Luffy.

“Thatch?” Luffy mumbled, blinking up at the commander.

“I’m right here, buddy,” Thatch replied, putting a hand on Luffy’s forehead. “You look pretty tired, though – how about you get some sleep? You need to keep your strength up to get better.” Luffy nodded, turning his forehead further into his brother’s hand as his eyes slipped closed. Thatch sighed, turning to Myka, who was flipping through Luffy’s file on the other side of the bed. “So what’s he got?”

The head nurse didn’t look up from Luffy’s medical file. “We don’t know yet. It takes more than 10 minutes to run all the tests we’re running, you know. Go tell Oyaji the kid is sick, I’ll let everyone know as soon as we have a diagnosis.”

Thatch nodded, giving Luffy’s hair a quick ruffle as he stood up. “I’ll be right back, kiddo. Or someone else will be here, I’m sure.” With a nod to Myka he headed to find Whitebeard and report. As soon as he stepped onto the deck he was bombarded by questions.

 “Why’d you go sprinting off like that?”

“Was that Luffy you were carrying?”

“Who else on the ship is that size, dumbass, of course it was Luffy. Is the kid ok?”

Thatch sighed, raising a hand for silence. “Luffy is sick. I need to go tell Oyaji.”

The crew cleared a path between Thatch and Whitebeard, trailing along behind him apprehensively as Marco fell into step at his side. “How sick, yoi?” the phoenix asked, glancing over.

“He’s got a pretty bad fever and he threw up in his room,” Thatch answered, running a hand through his hair. “Said his stomach and his head hurt. Myka said she’ll let us know once they have a solid diagnosis.”

Marco nodded, stopping at the doorway to Whitebeard's room. "Is he awake right now, yoi?"

Thatch shook his head. "You can probably still go visit if you want to, but he had just fallen asleep when I left."

"I think I will," Marco said, waving Thatch towards their captain's quarters. "I'll see if Myka has any news while I'm at it, yoi." Thatch nodded, opening the door to Whitebeard's room, and the two of them went on their separate missions.

It took several hours for Myka to emerge from the infirmary, and she marched straight to Whitebeard's quarters without answering any of the questions from the crew. She was back out fifteen minutes later, marching down to the infirmary without a word. Whitebeard followed her out, and the worried crew surrounded him almost immediately, swarming him with questions instead of Myka.

"The nurses do not know what Luffy has," Whitebeard said, voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "Myka has requested we make use of the favor owed by Kureha of Drum Island, and I agreed. If none of the nurses know what they are dealing with, Kureha is probably the only one who could figure it out. We'll be making for Fishman Island immediately."

* * *

A week later the Moby Dick was within sight of Drum Island. They'd made good time from the New World, only pausing to dispatch some foolish rookie challengers with brutal efficiency when they were intercepted just before Fishman Island. The whole crew had been getting increasingly on edge as Luffy's condition deteriorated with each day they traveled, until the usually happy chatter during mealtimes had become tense silence.

The crew let out a collective sigh of relief when Marco first sighted the Drum Rockies. "We're close, _turico_ ," Marco said later as he settled into a chair by Luffy's bed with a stack of paperwork. "We're almost to the witch-doctor, yoi. If anyone can heal you up, it's her."

"What's the plan for heading to her place?" Thatch asked, looking up from the book he'd been reading to Luffy. "It's not like most islands are that open to Yonkou sailing up and docking."

"You, me, and a few others will be heading out in a small boat in the morning. I know where Kureha lives, so our little group will be heading to her place, hopefully without anyone finding out just what crew we're on, yoi."

Thatch nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted by Luffy weakly poking him in the side. "More story," the kid rasped, giving Thatch a pleading look. "Plan later." Luffy's fever-flushed cheeks and glassy eyes made the look even more devastating than usual, and Thatch picked up the book to continue reading.

* * *

When Marco, Thatch, and their skeleton crew of assorted division members finally sailed into one of Drum Island's tiny ports, they all let out a sigh of relief. Luffy had taken a turn for the worse, and they were all extremely on edge about it. Marco had been snapping at people the whole ride, while Thatch was unusually quiet. Both of them tended to stay within arms reach of Luffy whenever possible.

"Where do we go?" Thatch asked as they tied off their boat, leaving a few of the guys there to watch over it. He had Luffy in his arms, the kid's head tucked into his neck so he could sleep and not get motion-sick during the walk.

"This way, yoi," Marco said, patting Luffy gently on the back before heading through the center of the little town they landed in. He recognized the place from the last time he and Oyaji had been in the area and walked straight to the old witch doctor's tree residence, ignoring the curious stares of the townspeople. Normally Thatch would be trying to chat people up, smooth the way with a little small talk; instead he adjusted his hold on Luffy and followed Marco down the street.

It took them about an hour to find the tree Marco insisted Kureha lived in. Luffy had barely stirred during the whole trip, shifting a few times and muttering incoherently. Marco didn’t waste any time walking up to the tree and knocking sharply, yelling “Kureha! It’s Marco, yoi. Open up, please, I’ve got an emergency. Do this and you'll be square with Whitebeard.”

Everyone started in surprise when the trunk of the tree swung open to reveal an old woman standing inside. "Must be some kind of emergency, Feathers," she said, glancing from Marco to the group behind him. Her gaze fixed on Luffy almost instantly and she stepped past Marco, reaching out to put her hand against Luffy's forehead. "This what you meant?"

Marco nodded. "Help him and we're square," he said again, moving to rest a hand on Luffy's back. "You won't owe Oyaji or me a thing, yoi." He tried to keep his expression neutral, but he was sure the worry was bleeding around the edges now that he could feel Luffy shivering in Thatch’s arms and fighting for breath. “Please, Kureha.”

“Bring the brat in,” the old woman said, stepping back and holding the door open. “I’ll see what I can do.” Marco nodded gratefully, leading the party inside. “I warned you about this, Marco,” Kureha said as Thatch deposited Luffy on the empty bed. “I warned you what would happen if you attached yourself to a brat. To anyone, really. I see you didn’t take my advice to heart at all, fool.” She ignored Marco’s answering shrug as she went to work, muttering to herself as she checked him over.

After a few minutes of muttering Thatch couldn’t keep his mouth shut any longer. “Can you help him?”

“What do you think I’m doing now, fool? Shut up and let me work,” Kureha snapped without turning, rummaging through the cabinet above Luffy’s bed and pulling out a couple bottles. She mixed the contents of a couple into an empty one, swirling it around until the whole mixture turned a strange purple color before pinching Luffy’s nose and pouring the whole thing down his throat with a cheery “Bottom’s up!”

“WHAT THE FUCK, LADY,” Thatch shouted, jolting forward as Luffy spluttered and swallowed. “What kind of bedside manner is that?”

“The efficient kind,” Kureha answered, "this kid doesn't have time for any kind of coddling right now. Shut up and let me work." Thatch looked like he wanted to argue, but he leaned back against the wall when Marco put a hand on his shoulder. They watched quietly as the doctor mixed some more ingredients together before setting them to boil. She nodded to herself in satisfaction before turning back to the pirates. "Your brat needs to stay here for the next five days. After that you're free to go - he'll need to drink some of the medicine I'm making for a week after you leave to make sure his immune system is strong enough to take over, but other than that he'll be completely cured. I don't want you bums freeloading here; you can visit, but you sleep on your ship or in town. Visiting hours will last for one more hour, then you can all get out."

"We're not leaving Luffy alone," Marco said firmly as Thatch and the others geared up to make a fuss. "One of us gets to stay with him the whole time, and the others will go back and forth during visiting hours, yoi." He stood tall under Kureha's glare. "Come on, it'll give us a chance to catch up if I stay the night."

"Fine," Kureha said, snorting. "Do what you will. But the rest of your group is leaving in an hour, no arguments." Marco nodded, and the pirates all gathered around Luffy's bed to check on their little brother.

True to her word, Kureha started herding everyone but Marco out of the tree exactly an hour later. When Thatch tried to protest she brandished her scalpels threateningly, but Marco managed to talk his brother into staying on the ship and coming over first thing, and the crisis was averted. He spent the rest of the night catching up with his old semi-friend before falling asleep in a chair beside Luffy's bed.

Most of the division commanders were there bright and early the next morning, camped out in front of Kureha’s tree with huge travel mugs of coffee until she relented and let them come inside around 7. “How’s he doing?” Thatch asked, claiming a prime spot at Luffy’s side before the rest of the group could crowd around.

“Better,” Marco said, gratefully accepting the coffee his best friend passed over. “Much better, yoi. He sounds like he’s breathing easier and his fever is way down compared to what it has been. He hasn’t been coughing nearly as much, either, yoi.”

“What an official medical summation,” Kureha sneered as she shoved pirates to the side until she was at Luffy’s bedside, putting a finger to his forehead as she swiped Marco’s coffee. “Mmm, 101.2. Higher than I like but getting better.” She shoved another bottle of purple medicine into Marco’s hands, walking off with his coffee and calling instructions over her shoulder. “I’m going to get food. Give him that when he wakes up, or at 10:30 if he’s still asleep.” She was out the door before any of them could answer, and the group settled in to wait for their little brother to wake up.

It took a couple hours for Luffy to wake up, but he was already far more energetic than he’d been the last week, chattering as much as his brothers and sisters let him after Marco coaxed Kureha’s medicine down his throat. Kureha stomped back in around 5 and booted everyone back to the ship, with Thatch getting to stay the night.

The routine continued for the next four days, with someone else staying the night each time until Kureha declared Luffy well enough to go home. Marco got out of helping organize the quick resupply by claiming Luffy’s pickup and left the rest of the commanders to organize the hurried transactions and supply transport, heading for Kureha’s tree with a last cheerful wave. “Hey, turico, you ready to head home, yoi?” he asked, smiling as he entered Kureha’s tree. Luffy beamed, hopping off the bed when Kureha nodded at him, and the sight of his little brother with so much energy and cheer finally released the last knot of tension in Marco’s stomach.

“I really get to go home now?” Luffy asked as he ran for Marco’s legs, colliding with the phoenix’s knees.

“Get out, brat,” Kureha said from where she was sprawled out on her couch with a bottle of sake. “Take your medicine for the next week so you don’t have to come back here with the whole damn family.”

“Thanks Doctor Granny!” Luffy chirped as Marco lifted the kid onto his shoulders.

“Thank you, Kureha,” Marco said sincerely as he saw the doctor’s hand twitch towards her knives.

“Hmph. Get going, birdbrain,” Kureha huffed, taking a long pull from the bottle in her hand. Marco caught the way her lips turned up at the corners, though, and grinned to himself as he ducked out, Luffy babbling happily above him.

Marco let Luffy’s endless chatter wash over him as he walked, answering and excited questions that were fired off about the village and island, letting Luffy get out all the talk he’d been deprived of for so long by sickness and recovery. Eventually Luffy slowed down, and Marco took that as his opportunity to interject with a question. “Hey, Lu, do you want to fly back to the ship? Everyone else is shopping still, so it’ll be awhile before we can hitch a ride home with anyone, and I thought you could use something exciting, yoi.”

“I wanna fly!” Luffy said immediately, raising one arm from Marco’s head to cheer. “Fly fly fly fly flyyyyyyyyy!”

“Hold on tight, then,” Marco said, shifting Luffy to hang from his neck as he started his transformation. “Here we go, yoi.”

In seconds they were in the air, Luffy laughing wildly, holding tight around Marco’s neck without cutting off his airway. Marco shot straight up, bringing them far over the top of the Drum Rockies before turning them towards the Moby Dick. He shot down in a dive for several seconds before leveling out, Luffy screaming in excitement the whole time. “More!” the kid demanded immediately, and Marco obliged. The flight was a journey of dives and sharp turns, leaving Luffy breathless with laughter and exhilaration.

Marco glided the last dozen yards to the Moby Dick, transforming back to his human appearance just before they touched down. “Awwwww, are we done already?” Luffy asked, pulling his head over Marco’s shoulder and pouting at his brother.

“What, you don’t want to eat your ‘welcome back’ dinner, yoi?” Marco asked, shifting Luffy around to his hip and giving the kid a teasing smile. “I suppose we could fly some more if you don’t mind the rest of the family eating your food.”

“FOOD?” Luffy asked, eyes sparkling. “Real food not icky sick person food Doctor Granny made me eat?”

“Real food,” Thatch said, plucking Luffy out of Marco’s arms and swinging him around. “You’re back home, it deserves a celebration!” He set Luffy down facing a large table laid out with a veritable feast of Luffy’s favorite foods. “We’ll stop you before you eat too much, so go wild for a bit.” He leaned down to press a quick kiss to the top of Luffy’s head. “Welcome home, bro. We’re all glad you’re okay.”

Luffy turned around to beam at Thatch and threw his arms around his brother’s waist before running off to get a plate and start piling it with meat while the rest of the crew crowded around to give more hugs and hair ruffles, chattering about anything and everything with whoever was next to him at the time.

“Now everything can go back to normal,” Izou said a couple hours later as the crew cleared up after the dinner was over and Luffy was asleep.

“As normal as it gets for us,” Vista said. “Maybe this is a sign that we’ve been getting lucky all this time, though. It’s a minor miracle we’ve never been in a serious conflict the whole time Luffy’s been with us that could have gotten him hurt.”

“I have been thinking the same thing,” Whitebeard said, hefting a table in one hand to move it to the other side of the deck. “I will be using the trip back to the New World to think of a training plan. Vista is correct; we have gotten lucky, and our luck will not hold forever. Luffy will begin training once he has finished taking his medicine and we are sure he is completely healthy.”

The commanders nodded their agreement. This sickness had come far too close to taking their youngest brother from them; they weren’t going to take any chances with things they could control. As hard as it was for them to admit, it was time for Luffy to start growing up.

* * *

Bonus - Luffy Age 2

Thatch loved being the first cook up in the morning - he got control over the breakfast menu, and he could sing and dance around the kitchen if he felt like it. It was the best way to wake up - mess around while making delicious food for his whole family. He'd gone without his usual pompadour for a bit, feeling too lazy to do much else than toss his long hair into a ponytail when he woke up, and was bopping around the empty kitchen while he mixed up the batter for the first of many pancake batches, swinging his head back and forth to make his hair swish.

He'd already made a pretty sizable stack by the time he felt someone enter the kitchen, grinning as he recognized the presence of the Moby Dick's youngest crew member. "Morning, Lu," he said, turning his head to smile at the kid while flipping a pancake. "You're up early, bubba. What's up?"

"Not sleepy," Luffy said, latching onto Thatch's pants in a good-morning hug. "Heard you singing and came to visit!" He quickly pulled himself up until he was hanging across Thatch's shoulders to watch what he was doing. "What's breakfast? 'S it yummy?"

"Of course it's yummy, brat, who do you think you're talking to," Thatch said, expertly flipping the pancake into the 'done' stack and pouring out the batter for another as he talked. "I'm making pancakes. Since I was up first, I get to pick the food." He turned to snag a pancake off the pile and hand up to Luffy, but a giggle from behind him made him pause. “What’s so funny, squirt?”

Luffy answered by twisting his fingers into Thatch’s hair and swinging it back and forth. “It tickled!” He let go, still laughing as he clambered around until he was comfortably seated on Thatch’s hip as the cook’s arm came around him automatically.

“What, this?” Thatch asked, twisting his head to the side and making his ponytail flick Luffy’s face. “Could this possibly be what you mean?” He turned his head back and forth, smiling as Luffy laughed. “Is this the ticklish thing?” He paused to concentrate on flipping the pancake, paying attention to make sure it came out just as perfect as all the others, then returned to his ponytail-flicking once he’d poured out batter for the next one.

The pair stayed like that until some other cooks stumbled in and Thatch gave them the menu before letting them take over as he and a giggly Luffy walked out. If the rest of the crew noticed his hair was in a ponytail just as often as it was in his usual pompadour for a few days, they were nice enough not to mention it.

**Author's Note:**

> So that last little blurb is something I spent a solid week doing with one of my kids when we were doing diaper changes.  
> This installment marks the start of the occasional serious story! Because Luffy is going to be growing up on a pirate ship in the New World, and not everything is rainbows and unicorns. There will still be fluff, because I thrive on fluff, but Luffy will be learning how to fight and getting into more serious trouble more often from now on.  
> Once again, thank you for all the reviews thus far, and I'm sorry it took so long to get this story out!


End file.
